Each of the twelve applicants presented a brief summary of proposedwork during a developmental leave and answered any subsequent questionsregarding methodology, ultimate importance of and use of findings, etc.[Secy's note: Length of description does not connote importance.]

Prof. Karen Ostlund (Biology)

Prof. Ostlund has been involved for some years with the GEMS (GreatExplorations in Math & Science) program of the Lawrence Hall of Science atUC-Berkeley with Nobel Laureate Glenn T. Seaborg as PI on this project.This program collects, tests, and disseminates materials/methods onincorporating science and math into the K-12 curriculum to preservice andinservice teachers. Prof. Ostlund would establish a GEMS center at SWT tonetwork with schools in Texas to incorporate this information, in additionto the Center's own testing and development of materials. Science Room 217has been designated as the Center site. Teachers trained at workshopsreturn to train others at their own facilities. Our Center may alsoattract graduates to our MSIS program and grad students can be active inresearch in this area.

Prof. James Champion (Mod. Lang.)

Prof. Champion has been working on bringing our (SWT has one of thefew original copies) early edition of Cabeza de Vaca's _La relacion_ toscholars in language and history of the period. A CD-ROM interactiveprogram, with his introduction and bibliography, would be an asset toscholars and, of course, promote our Southwestern Collection in the AlkekLibrary.

Prof. Nancy Chavkin (Social Work)

Prof. Chavkin would do a meta-analysis of evaluations of 20programs funded by the U.S. Dept. of Ed. regarding family involvement ineducation (the majority of recently DOE recently funded projects in thisarea). The research would include questionnaires to each program and sitevisits to some to determine "best practices" in evaluation, not just (1) Wedid we do what we said we would, but (2) What outcomes can we show inevaluation (the "autopsy report")? Pilot programs tend to say they didwhat they expected to do, but the DOE has not analyzed criteria andoutcomes. She said that the DOE would like for someone to do this, butthey cannot afford to do so. The information is all in the public domain,since it was government funded.

Prof. Xingde Jia (Math)

Prof. Jia will be working with three of the top math brains in theworld to produce a problems-oriented book to introduce students to (1)combinatorial number theory, and (2) probabilistic theory. While this isdiscrete, pure math, the applications are limitless--including theircurrent application to computer science. Springer Publishers has alreadyoffered a contract for the book, based on the prestige of the authors.

Prof. John Paul Johnson (Music)

Prof. Johnson was invited to write a book on vocal health by RogerDean Publishers (Dayton). This presents an opportune moment for ourdirector of four SWT chorales to do more research (literature from anatomyto opposing theories and conductor practices) on an area in which he haslong been concerned. There is no current text drawing theory, research,and practice together.

Prof. Frank Josserand (History)

Prof. Josserand has long been a historian of musicians within theirtime-frames, having published much on Wagner. His current project is touncover the personal worldview (Weltanschuung) of the 33 or so Romanticperiod composers, from Beethoven to Gustav Mahler (1800-early 1900s). Thematerial would include various composers' opinions of each other, as wellas their surrounding societies.

Prof. Bruce McClung (Fin/Econ)

Prof. McClung pointed out that aggregate level data comparescollege grad incomes to high school or dropout income levels. He proposesto disaggregate the college income levels by pay-back to majors, using datafrom the National Longititudinal Survey for Youth data bank. Pay-backs bymajor can be useful to both students chosing a major and to universities topredict possible forthcoming major choices and departmental allocations.

Prof. Albert Milhomme (Mgt/Mkt)

Prof. Milhomme has done previous work on Euro-Disney financialproblems and proposes to do further research on this corporation andEuro-Channel (Chunnel). Both have come in enormously over-budget andunder-producing, putting banks (50 in the first case, 150 in the second) indanger, plus individual stockholders. What went wrong and did themanagement fib in their projections? Prof. Milhomme hopes that hisanalysis of secondary data and his projected interviews with past andpresent managers will uncover the story. It's a real who/what-done-it, butwill managers 'fess up?

Prof. Jana Minifie (Mgt/Mkt)

Prof. Minifie has two projects she would like to pursue. (1)Small business (under 50 employees) in Austin, as to their problems ingetting started, their information sources, the information they wishedthey had received, current problems, etc. In this project she would sendout approximately 5,000 questionnaires and follow up with interviews tofirms willing to cooperate (both incubator firms and automous start-ups).(2) Health care innovations and how these are affecting the health careproviders and their patients.

Prof. Paul Barnes (Biology)

Prof. Barnes intends to study: (1) How ultraviolet rays affectplants, and (2) How mesquite trees' 100 or so foot taproots bring up waterto nourish small foliage under them--hydraulic lift. Obviously, thesequestions have to do with global ecological questions regarding warming,desertification, water tables, etc. [The research has some impact oncurriculum/research in our new Ph.D. program in Geography, it would seem,although this was not discussed.]

Prof. Willard Stouffer (Pol.Sci.)

Prof. Stouffer will produce a monograph (and other publications) onthe tax reform options currently facing Texans and which are now beingdiscussed in the State legislature. He is a representative of varioustax-interested organizations, e.g. Common Cause and The Coalition for TaxEquity, and has been involved in the State legislative proceedings for sometime. The public needs documentation on what has happened and what isongoing, so that they will be aware of options and their impacts. Forexample, when lower-income groups are paying exorbitant property taxes (asthey do in Texas), a "circuit breaker" could cut in by law to pick up thisoverpayment. Higher income individuals and corporations would take up theslack. [He noted that the lower 20% in Texas pay 4.7% of income inproperty taxes and the top 1% pay 1+%.]

Prof. Sharon Ugalde (Mod. Lang.)

Prof. Ugalde stated that Spanish women poets today (at least 17 ofthem) are resurrecting and reconstructing the image of Shakespeare'sOphelia from Hamlet. This seems odd, given that Ophelia is not exactly themodern woman's icon. What is going on? Prof. Ugalde intends to find out.

The Senate met in closed session to rank the 12 candidates forleave. Outcomes will be announced later.

NEW BUSINESS

There will be no meeting next week on Wed. 11/27/96, due to theThanksgiving vacation. The next meeting will be PAAG on 12/4/96 at 3:30 atthe University Club. It will be a social and informal discussion withPres. Supple and VPAA Gratz. Liaisons are invited to come mingle andparticipate in the informal meeting.